According to a graph presented by www.marketingcharts.com, web access from smartphones has increased 10 times
as much as that from desktops in the last 12 months. Specifically, "smartphone
traffic grew by 125% between the first half of 2012 (H1 2012) and H1 2013,
compared to 12% growth for desktops." In another graph, it was revealed that 70% of users shopping on
smartphones relied on store locators, 56% looked at prices, 54% conducted
research on products they were interested in buying, and 40% looked up reviews
on these items. No wonder it's a top priority to make sure websites are
optimized for smartphone access to accommodate for this huge increase in
volume.

Bold step

Google took a bold step
in June, stating that it would
lower websites in search results if they didn't work properly for smartphone
browsers. This means businesses
with poor site design practices may lose revenue or traffic if they don't
comply. Some would probably argue this is pushy indeed, that a smaller company
wouldn't dare take such a step and this reeks of arrogance. Others might point
out a tried-and-true axiom in IT; that users only take action when compelled to
get on their feet and do so.

(Note: modified image to include a fake shoe)

I have to say I agree
with the latter concept. There's a Chinese proverb which states "the
palest ink is better than the best memory." This translates to policies
enforced by technology; the most basic technological requirement is worth more
than a mere plea to website designers to make sure their sites are
smartphone-friendly.

Google isn't just
issuing a blunt demand and threatening repercussions like Nikita Kruschev,
leader of the Soviet Union in 1960. They're also offering a list of common
issues and tips to help companies toe the line, no pun intended.

What are some of the common issues?

As a background,
smartphone browsers have different demands since they present data on a smaller
screen and the device may have inferior hardware specs to a desktop system. A
smartphone screen is too narrow to display the desktop version of the browser,
even on those honking Samsung Galaxy Note screens.

According to www.marketwatch.com, 71% of smartphone owners use their devices for
shopping, and 88% report negative issues including difficulty browsing retailer
websites, images, security concerns and checkout problems.

As discussed in the announcement
from Google, "faulty redirects"
and "smartphone-only" errors are the two biggest culprits at hand
when it comes to smartphone browsing issues. A faulty redirect occurs when a
desktop-browser-oriented page redirects the smartphone browser to the top-level
component of a mobile site (e.g. m.example.com), rather than the actual page
itself on the mobile site. Google provides an image for clarification.

In the example above,
the user trying to get to www.example.com/foo doesn't actually get taken to "m.example.com/foo"
but rather m.example.com itself, where they might then have to browse for the
page they want, or else find themselves just plain stuck. The solution is
obvious here: make sure the redirection works on an equivalent basis. Www.example.com/foo
should take smartphone users to m.example.com/foo. Google offers more tips on redirects (they recommend using a Vary HTTP header for
automatically redirecting URLs and discuss http/java and
bidirectional/unidirectional redirects). They also have a page on how to use separate
mobile URLs.

A smartphone-only error
refers to sites/pages which work fine on desktop browsers but which show an
error (such as 404) to a smartphone browser. This can happen in the case of a
faulty redirect as outlined above, videos which won't play on smartphones, page
speed delays, or perhaps an infinite redirect loops caused by a
misconfiguration in Googlebot-Mobile, a web crawler that searches the web and adds pages
to the Google index on behalf of smartphone browsers. Google has a page on "Building
Mobile-Optimized Websites"
which can help address this problem.

Hopefully Google's
strong-arm technique will serve the greater good. Disgruntled web designers
should keep this in mind – after all, who would you rather have throwing the
shoe at you – Google, trying to help improve your site, or your customers,
complaining about your irresponsible behavior?

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About Scott Matteson

Scott Matteson is a senior systems administrator and freelance technical writer who also performs consulting work for small organizations. He resides in the Greater Boston area with his wife and three children.

Full Bio

Scott Matteson is a senior systems administrator and freelance technical writer who also performs consulting work for small organizations. He resides in the Greater Boston area with his wife and three children.